Coroner: Teen shot himself in head

Nichols said Eugene Kinard shot himself in the head in a neighbor’s yard on West Main Street just after midnight on Sept. 22.

Nichols has not yet ruled the manner of death.

Kinard was pronounced dead at the hospital the following day.

"He was shot in the head with a .38 pistol," Nichols said. "He died of a single gunshot," Nichols said.

Witnesses at the scene say Kinard had been playing with the gun a short time before the shooting. Morse said his friends took the gun away from Kinard, but he somehow managed to get it back and shoot himself.

Robin Morse, director of Clinton's Public Safety Department, said the original call reported that Kinard shot himself.

News 4’s Myra Ruiz spoke with Eugene’s mother, Suzette Byrd.

Byrd said there was a large group of teenagers around when the shooting happened and all of their stories are different as to how it happened.

She said she hopes her son is remembered for his smile and laugh. He was the youngest of her three children.

Kinard's organs were donated through Lifepoint, according to Nichols.

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